Georgia, Tbilisi, Dec. 10 / Trend N. Kirtzkhalia /
Bidzina Ivanishvili has not served as Prime Minister while having dual citizenship, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze said. At the moment, Ivanishvili is a French citizen, she said at a briefing on Monday.
"If he gets Georgian citizenship and retains his foreign citizenship, he will automatically lose the post of Prime Minister, because in accordance with the constitution, a person with dual citizenship cannot serve as Prime Minister. However, EU Citizens have the right to hold the post. This is nonsense resulting from constitutional changes made by former authorities. We spoke about how no one can change the Constitution upon a whim, which would be a complete absurdity. A Georgian citizen has the right to become Prime Minister if he refuses his second citizenship. But if he has dual citizenship, he has no right to occupy senior positions such as the presidency, prime ministership or the role of speaker of parliament. A person with dual citizenship or Georgian citizenship is in the worst position, while EU citizens are in the best position."
On Saturday, Prime Minister Ivanishvili said that because of the knotty nature of Georgian legislation, if he regains Georgian citizenship, he will lose the post of Prime Minister. He explained that he fails to regain the citizenship even judgment entitles him to this.